Monday, April 11, 2011

Somebody Let The Monday In...They Need To Be Shot

I called in sick today because I have had no sleep and I feel rotten to the core. First off, I read an Alternet article before I shut the computer down last night. In it was the information that a current poll indicates that 51% of Americans believe that President Obama is not an American citizen. That figure is up from 44%. The whole WTF aspect of that blew any chance of falling to sleep quickly, right out of the park. I finally dropped off to sleep somewhere around 1 AM, only to be awakened by Butterscotch.

Why did Butterscotch wake me, you ask? It's like this. A mouse he was chasing decided the bedroom was just the place to hide.

When Butterscotch was a little kitty, under the bed wasn't safe. He could scoot right under there after anything that moved. Now that he's a close to 13 pound adult, under the bed is a great place for small things to hide, he can't scoot under the frame the way he used to. So, he contented himself by running around the bed stopping long enough to stretch a leg and paw under there, but he himself just doesn't fit.

During the race to grab it, Mr or Mrs Mouse, whichever, decided to find a hidey hole by climbing up the underside of the bed linens to hide under the covers. Which is where I found it when I decided that it had been quiet long enough and that mouse had escaped into the bathroom and possibly down the plumbing as it goes through the floor. There isn't much of a gap behind the washing machine, but mice seem to be able to flatten themselves enough that I could hope this occured. I was wrong.

I pulled back the covers intending on climbing back in, only to find mouse wedged up against the wall between our pillows. Like the craven coward I am, I yelped in shock and mouse disappeared down the gap between mattress and headboard. No way am I getting into that bed.

Hubby went into the bedroom to see if he could find it and he wasn't able to, and again, after a suitable length of time, we thought the mouse had escaped. I changed the sheets and we retired to sleep for another 45 minutes. At which point we were again awakened by Butterscotch as he tromped across the top of us to get to the other side of the bed so he could catch the mouse as it tried to escape.

By this time it was 5 AM and nearly time for us to start our day. Hubby grabbed a few extra minutes of sleep on the couch while I sat in my easy chair dozing in an upright position. Mouse made another break for it at 6 AM. This time he made it to the hallway where he was promptly driven up the wall to sit on the top of the bathroom door frame. I was just about to bash it with a shoe when Hubby knocked him off there into a covered container, took him out into the woods and let him go. If it knows what's good for it, entering my home again will not be on it's agenda.

Shortly after Hubby trapped the mouse, I discovered that I had another problem not related to lack of sleep. There is a stomach bug making it's rounds here and it seems to have taken up residence in my stomach. No sleep, numerous trips to the bathroom and I still have to clean the bedroom to remove any traces of what the mouse might have left behind.

Towards the end of the day, when it is safe to do so, I will be making a trip to Walmart for either mouse traps or D-Con depending on just how miserable I'm still feeling. Probably mousetraps, I'd rather not accidentally poison the cat. One thing I know, I will not spend my money on those cute little no kill traps. As far as I'm concerned, the only good mouse is a dead one and I'm too mean and miserable today to consider being humane.

14 comments:

  1. Sherry:

    My experience has been that where you find one mouse, there are sure to be others. Better set those traps and wipe them out before they start chewing on your electrical wiring.

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  2. People don't just let the Monday in, they get in on their own. Invest in a Monday gate to keep the Monday out. There expensive, but worth every penny.

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  3. When you figure out who let Monday in- let me know, willya? I need to stick my boot straight up into their hind parts!

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  4. Whit,

    There are probably thousands of mice out there. Most of the time they stay outside where they belong, but I'm ready for them if they want to come in again.

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  5. Fringe,

    I think it might be cheaper to just keep the mice out. Monday gates are a lot more than I can afford. LOL

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  6. Scratch,

    As soon as I figure it out, I'll give you a shout. I hope you've got big boots, this Monday has been painful and I'm liking the idea of revenge

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  7. Sherry,
    I expect before too long we will start seeing mice in the house. And our dog loves to chase them. Even catches them sometimes. Just hope one doesn't try the Hide-under-the-bed trick. Flynn is just doggedly determined enough to pursue it and it would be hell awakening to 65 pounds of canine moving furniture in the night with us on it.

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  8. Mister O,

    Well, I'd rather have my furniture moved with me on it than sleep with a mouse in it. That just freaks me out.

    I must admit I was really freaked out by a mouse on the top of the bathroom door frame. Little creeps climb walls. UGH! I still need sleep, I was too busy today to get any and now feel like someone has beaten me with a rubber hose. No marks, just soreness.

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  9. Sherry, they have a new kind at Lowe's home improvement...it is self contained and the mice have to enter the trap to eat the bait...(sort of like a mouse condo)...one in they can't come back out and an "occupied" flag tells you by looking you have a new renter that moved in....

    Safe for all the animals in the house as they can't enter or get to the bait....

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  10. TAB,

    Those are the kind of traps that you have to take the critter outside to let go. I can't put both D-Con and water in the trap. D-Con requires access to water to kill. I want the damn things dead. Butterscotch will kill them but not until he's terrorized them. He doesn't hunt for food, he hunts for sport. LOL

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  11. hope your mice go away with the stomach virus.

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  12. Bella,

    Yeah, I knew that First Mouse Day had to happen sooner or later. I really would have preferred it sooner than 2:30 in the morning, and never would be ideal.

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  13. ice,

    So far no mice in the house since Monday. And it seems not to have anything to do with poison since I didn't purchase any D-Con until today.

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